


Goodbye

by MusicLover6661



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 20:24:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13621023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicLover6661/pseuds/MusicLover6661





	Goodbye

I woke up to a pounding headache, the taste of stale beer in my mouth, and the sun blinding me. Of course I had gone to another party last night and got wasted, it was all I knew how to do in this shitty town. Everyone was waiting on me to arrive as it was, and I gave them the show that they were hoping for. I had expected to find someone new in my bed, but the other side was bare. Maybe I hadn't brought anyone back to my apartment for once. I looked over at the calendar on my wall and frowned, six months and counting. Shaking my head I sat up, there was no way she was keeping track of the days like I was. She would've moved on and lived her life the way it was meant to be lived, and I wasn't part of that plan.  
~~~  
“Just fucking tell me why! You seemed perfectly fine moving with me last week!” I couldn't see anything but red, she had suddenly changed her mind at the last minute.  
“Because I'm not ready to move that far away from my family, just because you want to be away from your father doesn't mean I want to be away from mine” She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.  
“You have been telling me since March that you wanted to move with me, but now you're having second thoughts?” I threw my hands up and turned my back to her, I didn't want to take my anger out on her, she didn't deserve it.  
“There's no guarantee that we'd even have a place to live Billy! I can't risk that” She walked over to the dining room table and grabbed her purse. Was she really going to leave? Seriously!?  
“Oh so you're just gonna leave? Is that how you want things to end?” I was treading on thin ice, and I knew it.  
“I'm not going to deal with you like this, if you want to talk to me when you're not acting like an asshole then fine” She turned and stormed out of the house, slamming the door loudly behind her.

I ground my teeth together and slammed my fist into the wall, wincing at the pain that shot up my arm. Max ran out of her room startled, I really couldn't handle any of her shit right now.

“What just happened?” She glanced between my hand and the wall, of course there was no indentation. Nothing but my now bruised hand.  
“Y/N left, we broke up” I pushed passed her and went down to my room, slamming the door behind myself.

I could hear Max run to the phone and call her, they had grown close during our relationship and while it made me jealous. It kept Max off my ass for the most part, I didn't have to worry about her as much. Things were going to be different now, I was leaving in the next two days and no one was going to change my mind about it at all.  
~~~  
“Hargrove!” My boss's loud voice rang through my head like a bell, a loud and gravelly bell.  
“Yes?” I set down my hammer and looked up at him. The man was never on a job site unless it required him to be. He spent more time in an office chair than anything.  
“I need you on a new site tomorrow, all I can give you is the address” That worried me, we always had more information than just an address.  
“Same time as usual?” I asked nervously, I hated going to new sites, you never knew who you were going to end up working for.  
“Yes, so make sure you wear something a little cleaner” He glanced down at my jeans that were covered in sawdust and dirt. Kind of hard when you work in construction, asshole.  
“Yes sir” I said going back to my task at hand.

The air was thick, warmer than I would've expected for late October. But I would take it over Hawkins any day. I had called Max up the moment I got back into Cali, she tried to convince me to call Y/N but the pain was too raw. I left without saying goodbye, without apologizing for being an asshole. I broke her heart the same way she broke mine and I wasn't ready to open myself up to that anymore. So I did what I thought was best, I got drunk and hooked up with anyone that was willing. It worked for a little while, until all I could think about was her.  
~~~  
“Just call her, she's been upset since you moved” Max's voice was quiet on the other end of the line. I had dialed her number so many times, but I couldn't handle the reaction I would get.  
“I can't do that Max, she's probably moved on and found someone else anyway” I rubbed my face and sighed, boxes were piled up around the apartment I had gotten when I moved into town.  
“Billy she hasn't, she misses you” I wanted to believe her, I really did.  
“I gotta go kid, I'll call you when I have more time” I knew the time difference wasn't that big of a deal, but I didn't want Neil giving her shit for calling me. His worthless piece of shit son.  
“Okay, bye” She hung up before I could utter another word.

I set the phone back down and frowned, did Y/N really miss me? Or was that Max talking out of her ass trying to get me to call her? I could only assume Max was lying, she wanted me to come back to Hawkins. I couldn't go back to that shit hole, it would just eat me alive again.  
~~~

“Stupid fucking asshole, gives me a fucking address and no one's even here!” I kicked the side of my tire out of frustration. I had arrived only ten minutes early, and now after almost an hour no one had shown up.

I wanted to grab my cigarettes out of the glove compartment, but I stopped myself. I didn't need to chain smoke three cigarettes and make my anxiety any worse than it was. Just as I was about to get into my car and drive home another car pulled up. I didn't recognize it as the boss's, or any of the other guys. This must've been whoever needed work done on the house that was standing proud behind me. I took a few deep breaths and put on my best smile, need to show the client that I wasn't a total asshole. That was thrown entirely out the window the moment the driver stepped out.

“Am I dreaming or is that you Harrington?” I was shocked, what was he doing in California of all places?  
“Yeah it's me don't cream your pants” He walked over and stopped about five feet away. It felt just like the night I nearly beat his face in.  
“What're you doing here?” I asked, he looked back at the car as if he was waiting for someone else to get out.  
“Don't hit me, that's all I ask” He stepped back and turned back to the car, motioning for whoever was inside to get out.

I furrowed my brow and squinted, the sun was glaring off the windshield as whomever it was stepped out. But the moment I caught sight of her, I knew in that moment I was fucked. I had to be dreaming, there was no way this could be real. She was stunning, hell she looked better than I had ever seen her look before. I opened my mouth to give my stereotypical greeting, but I found that no words would come out. Now I looked like an asshole, and unprofessional. My boss wasn't going to like this one bit.

“So what am I working on in the house for you guys?” My voice sounded forced as they stepped closer, this was my worst nightmare become reality.  
“The floors need to be redone is all” Steve shrugged and looked over at her, she was looking anywhere but at me. I was waiting for him to wrap his arms around her, kiss her and make the slap in the face that much worse.  
“Do you have something in mind you'd like done? Hardwood, carpet, tile?” I was rattling off the options as I watched her, she bit her lip softly and blushed.  
“I think mostly hardwood, but tile in the bathrooms and kitchen” I nodded and felt my throat tighten. I wanted to call Max and scream at her for not warning me.  
“Well let's go inside so I can see what I'm working with” I turned and let Steve lead the way into the house.

I kept my eyes on the ground watching Steve's feet to make sure I didn't run into either of them. The trees were nice shade from the sun, though I'd of preferred to get sunburnt. At least it wouldn't hurt as much as the picture in front of me. Steve pushed the doors open and walked inside, the house looked brand new, except there was no flooring. At least I wouldn't have to tear anything up, less work for me.

“I can get samples for you to look at, and from there I'll start laying down the groundwork and get it done in about two weeks, three tops” The house was huge, I wasn't surprised that Steve's parents owned it.  
“Sounds great, if you can meet me back here around two that'd be perfect” I nodded and watched him go into what I assumed was the kitchen. Y/N stayed behind.  
“You cut your hair” Her voice was quiet, eyes trailing over me slowly.  
“Yeah, it got too hot working in the sun all the time” I was still in work mode, I didn't want to be having any conversation with her.  
“I want to apologize Billy” She rubbed her arm lightly and looked down at the bare floor.  
“You don't need to, I wouldn't of expected you to wait for me” The words sounded worse coming out of my mouth than they had in my head.  
“Billy” She looked up suddenly, her eyes full of sadness.  
“It's alright, I'm alright okay?” I fixed my shirt and swallowed thickly, everything hurt.

She opened her mouth but shut it quickly before going to find Steve, I turned and made a quick exit to my car. I'd just do this job for Steve and avoid the both of them like the plague.  
~~~  
“Why didn't you tell me she was with Harrington?!” Tears were streaming down my cheeks, though Max couldn't see them.  
“She isn't with Steve Billy, it's just complicated” She sighed and pulled the phone away from her ear to answer her mom.  
“Complicated my ass, she couldn't even look at me” I plopped down onto my couch and groaned. I had to start working on Steve's house early in the morning.  
“I think she went with to see you, it's like a summer house for his parents or something” She mumbled towards the end, though I couldn't catch her words.  
“It doesn't matter, she's obviously moved on” I wiped roughly at my cheeks and sighed.  
“Billy, come on” She was pleading now.  
“Max stop, she had my number from you, and she never bothered to call either” It was true, I had given Max my number to pass on. And I knew Max wouldn't wait longer than a second to give it to her either.

She was quiet on the other end, either my dad had just gotten home, or she was contemplating on what to say next. I wasn't sure what I was more afraid of to be honest.

“If she shows up when you're working, just talk to her okay?” Max's voice was rushed now, Neil was definitely home.  
“Yeah whatever” I hung up to help her avoid getting yelled at.  
~~~  
It felt weird being close to Max after I had left, she wasn't angry with me anymore, she was angry with my dad. Though I'm not surprised by that at all.

After countless samples, and hours of buying and arranging how I was going to lay the flooring I was finally able to start. I had warned Steve not to stop by when I was working as I would be laying down a powerful adhesive, and I was sure he didn't want that ruining anything of his. I was going to pass on the same message to Y/N but she had already left before I could. Proving my message to Max that she had moved on, and was most definitely dating Harrington. I wasn't fucking stupid, I could see the way he looked at her. I had looked at her before the fight, before I fucked everything up and moved back home without her.

I carefully placed another board onto the floor and hammered it into place, sweat was dripping down my neck and chest in small streams. Even with all of the windows open it wasn't enough, the heat was climbing higher, and higher. The sound of Metallica rang through the house loudly from the stereo that sat no more than twenty feet away. I didn't care if Steve got pissed at me for blasting music while I was working. It was a nice distraction as to what I was doing. I didn't want to have to work for Steve, but it was paying my bills so who was I to complain? When the front door opened I groaned internally, I really didn't need my boss coming to check up on me, or Steve.

“I brought lunch” Her voice caught me off guard, nearly hammered my hand as I whipped around to face her. She was holding a small bag in her arms.  
“Shit, you scared me” I stood up and took off my gloves, my shirt and pants were covered in dust, adhesive from that stupid fucking glue, and other shit I didn't want to know what it was.  
“Sorry, the music was really loud” I hadn't even noticed that it had stopped playing.  
“It keeps me distracted so I work a little faster” It was true, I tended to get my work done in half the time if I had music on.  
“Well, I still came by to drop off some food for you” She walked over and set down the bag, keeping her hands close to herself as she did.  
“Thanks, I'll eat after I finish with these last few boards” I sat back on my heels and sighed.

She didn't turn to leave, nor did she try to start any conversation, and that bothered me more than anything. I decided that if she was just going to watch me work, I was going to do just that. Which was more nerve wracking than I'd like to admit. I was afraid I was going to fuck up a board which would cause me to rip up half the floor. But before I could even blink I had finished the room, the dark cherry flooring complimented the light walls nicely. I stood up and walked over to where Y/N had set the bag down, I was starving.

“Are you staying?” I wanted her to, god I didn't want her to ever leave again. But I knew that wasn't a good outcome.  
“If you don't mind” She sat down on the floor, kicking off her shoes as she did.  
“No, it's fine” I sat down with her and pulled out the sandwiches that were packed inside. Peanut butter and jelly, I felt like a kid.

I had nearly devoured the first one before I offered the second to her, she tore it in half and gave me the other half back, nibbling on the sandwich slowly. There was two water bottles, and two small bags of chips. So she had planned on staying the entire time and just didn't want to tell me. I guess I couldn't be mad at her, even though my brain was screaming at me to abort.

“Why're you here with Harrington?” I asked as I sipped my water, the peanut butter had stuck to the roof of my mouth.  
“I wanted to see you, and when he said that you were going to be working on this place, I knew I couldn't pass the opportunity by” She blushed and opened her bag of chips. Well shit.  
“I wanted to apologize, for everything I said before I left. For not saying goodbye when I left” Even if she had moved on, I still had to apologize to her.  
“I understand why you did it, I would've done the same thing” That didn't make me feel any better.  
“I was just upset, we had talked about moving together and at the last minute you backed out. I felt betrayed by the one person that really cared about me, and I didn't know what to do” She hadn't known how I felt about her, I was too cocky to really let that side of me show.  
“I'm here now” She reached her hand over and placed it onto my arm gently.

It felt like electricity was passing between us, her hands were just as soft as I remembered and I wanted nothing more than to see if her lips were just as soft. But I stopped myself, I couldn't do that. She wasn't mine anymore, she probably had someone back home who gave her everything I couldn't. Someone that would love her unconditionally, give her their heart and soul without having to be asked too.

“I never stopped loving you, you were all I thought about, I even counted down the days. It's been six months, and three days by the way” When I looked over at her, shock was written across her features.  
“William Hargrove! You mean to tell me you counted the days since you had left, but didn't bother to call me?” She pulled her hand away, my arm felt cold from where it had been resting.  
“I didn't want you to hate me anymore than you already did” I said finishing my water, I was going to pour my heart out, like I should've done six months ago.  
“Did you really think I could hate you?” She asked raising an eyebrow.  
“Yes I did, because everyone in my life at one point has hated me. There hasn't been a single person that hasn't hated me for one reason or another. Max hated me because of how I treated her, Neil hated me because I was the “asshole son of his”, Susan hated me because I was rebellious, Steve hated me because I was too much of an alpha, Max's friends hate me because of who I am as a person, and I know you hate me for how I broke things off” I sucked in a breath, the air burning my lungs slightly.

I expected her to go off, start screaming about how I was right, and that I was an asshole. Except, she just started giggling. Her cheeks turning a deep shade of red as she struggled to catch her breath, and I wasn't sure if that hurt worse than being told I was an asshole.

“Billy, William, I can assure that no one hates you anymore. You're dad can kick rocks for all I care, but Max and her friends are moving on, they can see that you're maturing” Hearing her say my full name made my heart flutter.  
“That's because I've been calling almost everyday. My dad isn't too fond of that though” I shrugged and wrapped my arms around my legs, sure Y/N could say they didn't hate me, but how was I to know?  
“I know he isn't, and I'm sure he's pretty pissed off with you and Max right now” That confused me, sure he was pissed I skipped out of town the moment I could, but why would he be pissed at Max right now?

The thought was pushed out of my head as Max walked inside slowly, her group of friends standing behind her watching her every move. My jaw dropped open, she was back in California just to see me? Okay, don't get too cocky Hargrove.

“Max?” I asked as I stood up swiftly, she looked up and her jaw dropped open.  
“You cut your hair!” Her voice echoed throughout the house, I couldn't help but chuckle and hug her as she ran over. Y/N motioned for everyone else to come inside, they must've been on break from school or something.  
“I told you I did, you just don't pay attention to anything I say” I chuckled as she punched my shoulder playfully.

Everyone else was shocked to say the least, Lucas was apprehensive. I didn't blame the kid one bit, I was a monster to him because I was insecure. I squeezed Max gently and looked over at him.

“I want to apologize Lucas, I know I can't say enough show that I'm truly sorry for how I was before, I was a monster then. And I've learned that I needed to do better thanks to this one” I playfully ruffled her hair and laughed as she shouted, shoving my hand away as she did.  
“You nearly killed Steve that same night, have you apologized to him?” Lucas's tone would've normally enraged me, but I was working on getting my anger under control.  
“More or less, he's paying my rent for the next two months” I gestured to the pile of floorboards that were laying near my feet.  
“Hmm” He looked over to Max who simply nodded.  
“Like I said, I know I was a monster back then” I felt myself rambling, I wanted to show people I wasn't this crazed asshole anymore.  
“All's forgiven, for now” I nodded as a silent thank you. He didn't have to trust me, not that he ever would.

Y/N smiled and walked over to me slowly wrapping her arms around my neck gently. I raised an eyebrow and smiled softly. If this was how we were going to meet from now on, I wasn't going to complain too much, though I would definitely prefer it not to have such big gaps inbetween. I'd just never let her go, not that I would ever let her out of my sight now.

“So, dinner tonight?” I asked hopeful, I hadn't been able to take her out in so long.  
“You'll have to show me around town, I've never been here before” She giggled softly and kissed my cheek gently. The kids behind us groaning loudly.  
“I'll show you a great time princess” I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my forehead against hers.  
“You better, the drive here sucked” I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips. The drive here in my camaro was something I had wanted to forget.  
“I will, promise” I let go of her waist and held onto her hands, she bit her lip gently and cupped my neck.

I wanted to ask what she was doing, but before I could utter a single word, her lips were on mine. They were as soft as I had remembered. I ignored the giggle from Max, and the annoyed noises from her friends. They would understand more when they got older, but for now, it was just Y/N and I in the room. Our lips moving together softly, it was as if no time had passed between her and I.

“I love you” She pulled back gently, her face still inches away from my own.  
“I love you too” I kept my hands on her waist, keeping her body close to my own.

At least this time I wouldn't have to say goodbye.


End file.
